Love to have Andrew Ladd on the Pens, but I don't see the Jets moving their team captain for what else the Pens would want in return. Would not do Letang for Ladd and Trouba straight-up as Trouba has a ways to go before the NHL.

If Nichuskin fell to #5, then yes, agreed. It's possible that Nashville takes Barkov at #4, because they've soured on russians... (Barkov is Russian who grew up in Finland.) But Nichuskin's stock is rising fast. Saw one report had him vaulting to the top pick. At 6'4, with high-end skating ability, and a "power forward" game, he's certainly the player that fits this team's needs the most in this draft.

I'm all for some youth but YIKES. You realistically want to move 1 or at most 2 d-men into rotation a year. Despres is a lock for next year and you groom another young guy with some time as well. I don't think anyone wants to see what amounts to 3 rookies playing on the blue line every night

I'm all for some youth but YIKES. You realistically want to move 1 or at most 2 d-men into rotation a year. Despres is a lock for next year and you groom another young guy with some time as well. I don't think anyone wants to see what amounts to 3 rookies playing on the blue line every night

Maybe not Bylsma, But I like talent. Niskanen is useless and so is Engeland. You might have to keep crankshaft or pickup a veteran.

To the extent that teams have good, young emerging defensemen, they would want to get Letang to pair up with that guy, not trade that guy for Letang. I'd be pretty amazed if a deal like that happened. We have no idea if Letang is even willing to re-up with anybody. He may be intet on going to free agency and testing the market. Maybe he has a specific team in mind such as Montreal. I'd get any Edmonton proposals out of your mind. No way Letang will sign there.

You just can't sit these guys if they make a mistake. If we sat Malkin after a mistake he would play half the games.

Yea well Malkin is also one of the most talented hockey players on Earth. None of those guys mentioned are anywhere close.

No NHL team would go into a season with 4 rookies penciled into their defense. You may see 4 rookies get time due to injuries but you are going to a place that would cause comedic defensive zone antics. You also want to do this with Dan Bylsma as head coach who doesn't seem to want to insulate the defensive zone all that well and with Marc-Andre Fleury in goal who can be a tad inconsistent.

pcm wrote:There aren't many trade scenarios I'd be happy with letting Letang go. I think a deal could be signed and afforded @ $7m per. But if teams start calling, this is the asking price I'd be looking at:

Col: Johnson and the #1 Tampa: Hedman and the #3Car: Faulk and the #5Edm: Yakupov and Smid

I wonder what it would take to get a package Johnson and the #1 from COL. I don't think Letang alone would do it but I wonder what the Pens could add.

Hedman and the #3 would be amazing but I don't think Yzerman would give that up whatsoever.

Take the reported asking price with a grain of salt unless you remember reading:*Malkin would come in at 9.5, a 800K increase on his current AAV*Crosby would come in at 8.7, the same AAV as his last deal*Neal would come in at 5*Dupuis would take 1.5 on his last deal*Cooke would take 1.8 on his last deal

The reported number may be accurate, it may not. Regardless, there's a history of RS getting guys signed for less than anyone else thought. Doesn't guarantee it will happen with 58, but there's enough history there for me not to accept those numbers as gospel.

To me, this is Jordan Staal all over again. I'd bet Shero/Botteril have had a ballpark in mind since last year. If they can get him at that number, then he'll sign. If not, then you almost have to move him, because you can't lose an asset like that for nothing.

If he does go, getting a legit top 4 defenseman in return is an absolute must. Doesn't need to be an offensive guy, but would need to be an above average passer(Sorry Scuds) and have decent wheels. Perhaps the biggest issue on the Pens defense corps was that they only had 3 guys they really trusted with top 4 minutes: Letang, Orpik, and Martin. If you move 58, you're down to 2 and Orpik/Martin (both 34 IIRC) will be worn down by Xmas. Despres *might* be ready, but I'm not 100% sold. He couldn't crack the roster full time this year. I thought Niskanen was ready to move into a top 4 role this year, but he regressed a bit. The Pens have a bunch of great D prospects and Dumoulin might even be ready for some NHL work, but no one in the pool is ready for top 4 minutes. If they go into next year with

I get that Letang is prone to making some brutal, indefensible mistakes, but I also think some people get to focused in on them. Yes, when he's off, he can be pretty bad, but when he's on, he's absolutely dominant and can change a game with his skating. I know the Norris isn't the be-all and end-all for evaluating dmen, but his season was good enough to be a finalist. If Paul Martin, at 34, can improve on the horrendous year he had last year to the rock he was this season, I don't see why it's so hard for people to thing that at age 26, he's done improving. Surely he can "rebound" from this year.

Again, I'm not saying Letang is perfect. I'm not saying to pay whatever it takes to keep him either. But some act as though he's a turnover machine every night, with no redeeming qualities or any hope of getting better and that's simply not the case. If he was, you certainly wouldn't be able to deal him for anything of value. I wonder if a lot of the Letang hate is due simply to him being a favorite of the "puckbunny" crowd. Like, if he was dealt, that kind of fan wouldn't be around anymore. Who knows...

the riddler wrote:I saw a few reports that said Harrington's game should allow him to make a quick transition to the NHL.

Yeah, Harrington won't take long. Hockey IQ is off the charts, and physically he's not far off from being able to handle bottom-pairing minutes. Plus he's exactly what this team needs right now anyway.